The Feminist Critique Summary

The Feminine Mystique The search of identity is an issue familiar to contemporary society as well as to the society of 1963 when, Bettye Naomi Goldstein, better known as Betty Friedan, published her manifesto The Feminine Mystique. Friedan was born in 1921, forty-two years before she wrote her absolute phenomenon that would leave an imprint on the world forever. Growing up, Friedan knew she was unlike the other girls who wore dresses and did work that women were “supposed” to do. Perceiving courageous jobs such as an activist, a well-known author, and the first president of the National Organization for Women, Friedan knew exactly how to become and achieve her goal of being someone to remember. Reading The Feminine Mystique provides a sense of security, a bold statement of what the roles of women should be, instead of what the roles actually are. Being one of the most influential writers in her time, Friedan uses logic, pathos, and numerous rhetorical strategies to attract …show more content…
Repitition is used to highlight what seems to be a minor detail. For example, “One sees the human significance of work- not merely as the means of biological survival, but as the giver of self and transcender of self, as the creator of human identity and human evolution” (20). The word “human” is used numerous times to emphasize what identity means for an individual alone. The fifth and final strategy used in The Feminine Mystique is the use of rhetorical questions. “How many of them have been decieved, or have decieved themselves, into clinging to the outgrown, childlike feminity of “Occupation: housewife”?” (9). This rhetorical question describes the decisions that women had to make in their lives to choose their identity or let their identity be chosen for them. Each rhetorical strategy Friedan uses for her story draws the attention of her readers by making readers feel emotions that persuade them to understand what her main focus is: